Odometer at pick-up: 1,744 km
Odometer Current: 6,665 km (4,921 by Autos.ca)
Fuel Consumption: 7.13 L/100 km
Costs: $400.28 (Fuel only)

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a busier or better vacation, and the Toyota Corolla was no small part of that.

There is something to be said for not overreaching with family vacations, and to some degree, the Corolla’s compact size and sedan layout limited our plans to similarly modest but achievable goals.

The most ambitious goal was a little camping trip, our first solo family camping trip without any extended family (and associated childcare support network). We were on our own chasing our toddler and tyke around the campsite, keeping them from tripping over guy-wires and faceplanting in the fire, making an escape and running into the access road or playing with axes. Mission accomplished.

So, with four people to house (tent?) and feed for three days, we had to get creative with our packing in the Corolla’s 369 L of trunk space and evil box-crusher hinge arms. We packed a large tent, a bunch of tarps, a large cooler, four sleeping bags, three inflatable mattresses, three folding chairs, a folding camp stool/camping gear survival kit, propane camp stove and several smaller bags with clothes and shoes and food and raingear. As it turns out, we packed enough food for about twice as long as we stayed, so some of it spilled over into the cabin along with pillows between the kids’ car seats, small cooler with snacks and water bottles (the Corolla should be commended for its ample supply of cup and bottle storage around the cabin, and convenient placement of USB port), a large water jug and, well, more stuff.

While the kids were almost buried, the only real issue or complaint I would voice is about those hinge arms, which I defeated by packing the sleeping bags and tarps immediately beneath them so it would not crush our chips or be blocked by the cooler or something more solid. Trunk Tetris at its finest if I do say so myself.

Catch up with the Arrival, Part 1 and Part 2 of our Corolla Long-Term Test.

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